Georgia Lady Bulldog basketball head coach Joni Taylor is one of 10 semifinalists for the 2021 Werner Ladder Naismith Women’s National Coach of the Year Award, the Atlanta Tipoff Club announced on Wednesday. 

In her sixth season, Taylor has led the Lady Bulldogs to an 18-5 record and a top-4 seed in the Southeastern Conference Tournament. The Meridian, Miss., native was named the 2021 SEC Women’s Coach of the Year in a vote by her conference peers earlier this week. 

Taylor is joined as a semifinalist by Geno Auriemma (UConn), Adia Barnes (Arizona), Gary Blair (Texas A&M), Mike Carey (West Virginia), Jose Fernandez (USF), Brenda Frese (Maryland), Wes Moore (NC State), Tara VanDerveer (Stanford) and Jeff Walz (Louisville). 

The four finalists for the award will be announced on March 16, with the winner named on April 2 live on CBS Sports Network. 

Taylor’s team is preparing to start postseason play in the SEC tournament. Georgia — the No. 4 seed — will play either No. 5 seed Kentucky, No. 12 seed Florida or No. 13 seed Auburn this Friday at approximately 1:30 p.m. in the quarterfinals.